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Q: What's the best way to get organic growth for a LinkedIn company page?
- Visify Books, Detroit
A: Don't let the social media "gurus" out there fool you: There is no exact formula that will magically get you 100,000 followers overnight. However, there are definitely practices that you can employ to help grow your social-media network. I have found that if you stick with the three C's -- community, content and consistency -- you can enhance your LinkedIn company page over time.
Related: 3 Ways to Use LinkedIn to Grow Your Startup
Community. Use your real life community to help build your social-media channels. Every time I start using a new platform, I ask my friends and family to connect with the page first. The people that care about you will be your biggest cheerleaders. By getting them to engage, you will start to build a foundation to attract new people.
Also, use your existing social-media communities to attract new people to your LinkedIn page. Have you shared your business page via Twitter and Facebook? All of these channels should be interconnected.
Content. Practically everyone is on LinkedIn for career purposes, so make your page a resource for your industry. Share engaging, original content with your followers that they can utilize in their everyday life. For example, publish workplace tips or career advice relevant to your audience.
Related: 10 Questions to Ask When Creating Your LinkedIn Company Page
Having a hard time coming up with content? Use issues in your own life as story ideas. If you are encountering a business problem, chances are others in your industry are too. You can also riff off of other blogs and existing articles for new material.
Make sure that every time you add new content, you share it on all your other social media channels too. By doing so, the likelihood people find your LinkedIn content increases.
Consistency. Post often enough to keep people coming back to your page. One trick is to create a timely series that forces you to publish content. For example, you can do "Winning Sales Wednesdays," where every Wednesday you share tips on how to land sales deals. I know this may seem corny, but it will ensure that you will keep up your posting duties, as your readers expect it.
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